Schodorf Unveils Proposed Voting Changes

Jean Schodorf holds a voter registration form during a news conference at the Kansas Statehouse.

Credit Stephen Koranda

Democratic candidate for Kansas secretary of state has unveiled her proposal to revamp some voter registration rules. Kansas law requires proof of citizenship documents for people registering to vote for the first time in Kansas, and that requirement has put around 19,000 voter registrations on hold. Stephen Koranda reports...

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Wichita Democrat Jean Schodorf says Kansans with voter registrations that are on hold should be allowed to cast ballots until there's actual suspicion of voter fraud. She voted for the proof-of-citizenship requirement when she was in the Kansas Senate, but she now says the law has not worked as promised and is disenfranchising eligible voters. Schodorf lays that blame on Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who pushed for the law.

"I gave him a chance and he blew it. We have now lived with this law for over a year-and-a-half and its effects have been devastating,” says Schodorf.

Kobach says the voter registration requirements are preventing voter fraud, and he says Schodorf’s plan would not comply with state law.

"Amazingly, she thinks she could just ignore what is Kansas law. This is a state where the rule of law matters. You can’t just ignore what is on the books,” says Kobach.

Kobach says those voters with registrations on hold could fix the problem by submitting the proper documents.

Secretary Kobach is also facing a primary challenge from Lawrence Republican Scott Morgan.

Former Republican state senator Jean Schodorf says she will run for Kansas Secretary of State next year as a Democrat. Schodorf, from Wichita, confirmed her intention to run Tuesday during a meeting of the Saline County Democratic Party. Schodorf will challenge incumbent Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach . After serving 12 years in the state Senate as a moderate Republican, she lost a bid for re-election after conservative Republicans targeted her for defeat in 2012. Schodorf switched...